CLOUD TECH
PUBLIC SAFETY SYSTEMS
Intrado began about two years ago
upgrading the analog long-distance tele-
phone technology that has been used
since the 1960s for routing 911 calls, re-
placing it with high-performance MPLS
networking and IP-based routing hosted
in redundant data centers on the East
Coast and the central United States.
"We don't have fiber in the ground,"
Lee said. "We have wholesale agreements
with major carriers for MPLS service.
What we provide is the intelligence in the
system to know where to route the calls,
how to transfer them and maintain the
quality."
The network is built on the National
Emergency Numbers Association's i3
standard for end-to-end IP connectivity
between originating carrier networks and
PSAPs. Service providers using the stan-
dard form an interoperable Emergency
Services IP Network that can link public
safety agencies. The two Intrado data cen-
ters are both active and each routes calls
to the proper PSAP as needed. Because
both centers are active there is no need
for failover if one should go down.
"The experience at the PSAP is com-
pletely unchanged" with a cloud service,
Lee said. "The networks have gotten ro-
bust enough that we are delivering the
service you used to get by having it loaded
on a desktop or server in the back room."
PSAPs using the cloud service are served
by dual MPLS connections from different
sources, each capable of handling 100
percent of the needed capacity to pre-
vent outages from local disruptions. Lee
said that none of the Intrado network's
customers on the East Coast suffered 911
outages during last year's Super Storm
Sandy.
"This should reduce vulnerability to
outages," Soukup said. "In the cloud ev-
erything can be rerouted."
By using a cloud service for 911 servic-
es, jurisdictions avoid the capital outlay of
a hardware upgrade and can replace some
phone services. "It's more efficient for
government to use a service like this," Lee
said. Durham is expected to save about
$200,000 a year in surcharge funds.
But that does not mean that 911-as-
a-service is cheap. A jurisdiction still
has to pay for the service and for redun-
dant Internet connections with enough
bandwidth to handle traffic. "Rarely is it
cheaper," Lee said. Sometimes it is com-
parable and often it is more expensive.
But the reliability and promise of new
functionality and the opportunity for do-
ing away with hardware made the move
attractive to Durham, Soukup said. PSAPs
around the country won't necessarily be
rushing to adopt the service, however.
It all depends on the funding mecha-
nism," he said. "We have a 60-cent sur-
charge on all phones in the state. This
was entirely funded from the 60 cents
received on every telephone bill," and the
city and county did not have to go for a
general fund tax increase. •
24 GCN AUGUST 2013 • GCN.COM
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